The invention relates to a sliding roof assembly for vehicles and method of mounting same.
It is to be understood that throughout the following specification such terms as "upper", "lower", "vertical", "horizontal", "front" and "rear" are employed only for convenience of identification of the sliding roof assembly relative to its normal position of use on a vehicle.
Until now a specialized workshop has been needed for the purpose of subsequently providing a motor vehicle with a sliding roof which had initially been constructed without such a roof in the manufacturer's works. The fitting of a sliding roof into a motor vehicle commonly requires operations of such complex nature that such operations can only be undertaken by personnel specializing in this work.
In a known process for the production of a sliding roof in a motor vehicle, a substantially rectangular opening of the size of the sliding roof member is initially formed in the vehicle roof and a frame for the sliding roof member which closes off the excised opening in the closed position is then mounted on the vehicle roof from below, for which purpose the rim of the vehicle roof surrounding the roof opening is swaged over around a horizontal upper flange of the frame. The sliding roof member is then inserted into the frame and the whole is precisely adjusted. The entire vehicle roof must thereafter be rubbed down and resprayed.